"'Worthship' the Lord!"

We do not worship the Word, the Bible, but the Word teaches us how to worship appropriately.  Jesus said the Father seeks those who will worship Him “in spirit and truth” (John 4:23, 24).  The human spirit is capable of genuine worship when it heeds instructions supplied by “truth.” But what is worship? And what is truth?

Our word “worship” comes from an old English word, “worthship.”  Genuine worship recognizes God’s essential worth. He is worthy to be praised, honored, esteemed, and revered for who He is and does.  Nature and history offer only a small picture of God, and human experience is subjective, but the Word presents objective, infallible truth about God and His deeds.       

It seems to me that faithful teaching/preaching of the Word is as much a part of worship as songs and hymns of praise. Yet, often the Word is devalued while praise commands center stage (literally). However, Paul’s admonition to “preach the word” has never been more relevant that now.

You have heard the term “touch feely,” haven’t you? If churchgoers are satisfied with a nebulous touchy-feely experience gained by singing songs and choruses that fail to adhere to biblical doctrine, they are building their lives on sand.  Experience theology can never substitute for biblical theology.  On the other hand, all who base their worship and lives on the Word honor God and stand on a firm foundation.  Jesus said, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and pouts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock” (Matthew 7:24).

May every worship service be truly a “worthship” service! 

Unashamed at the Big Game

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes . . . “ (Romans 1:16).

Gloria and I are Broncos fans. Our Bronco flag is waving outside in a cold wind, and we will be cheering for the Broncos this afternoon. But we will be cheering from the comfort of our family room, unlike thousands of fans that have chosen to brave bone-chilling temperatures at Sports Authority Field.

If you watch the game, you will see a flood of Bronco orange cover the stadium, and you can expect to see some outlandish outfits and homemade orange-lettered signs in support of the home team. Some displays of loyalty may lead you to conclude insanity has invaded the stadium. However, you will not see a paper sack draped over any fan’s head. Not a single Bronco fan will be ashamed to declare his or her loyalty.

Christians ought to be unashamed of the gospel. Whereas the Broncos win some games and lose others, the gospel declares the good news that Jesus is victorious over sin, Satan, and the grave.  He is omnipotent and invincible. He saves all who believe on Him and makes us more than conquerors (Romans 8:37). Now, that’s something to cheer about.

May our loyalty to Him increase, and may we unashamedly say—and show—that we are on the Lord’s side.

Examining 2 Chronicles 7:14

Hardly a day passes that I don’t receive a call to pray for our nation based on 2 Chronicles 7:14. I appreciate the concern and the call to pray, but the people this verse addressed, the situation it described, and the promise it offered do not apply to Christians.

In 2 Chronicles 7:14 God addressed the Israelites who joined King Solomon in the dedication of the temple. In the extended context He promised to bless His people, the Israelites, if they obeyed His commandments and observed His statutes and judgments (verses 17-18). But He also issued a warning. If His people, the Israelites, turned away from Him, failed to keep His statutes and commandments, and became idolatrous, He would devastate their land (Israel). Drought, an infestation of locusts, and pestilence would be His messengers of judgment (verse 13). Also, according to verse 20, He would uproot His people, the Israelites, from the land (Israel).  

Furthermore, the promise we find in 2 Chronicles 7:14 was conditional. God would restore His people, the Israelites, and their land, Israel, if they would do three things: (1) pray; (2) seek His face; and (3) turn from their wicked ways.

Clearly, 2 Chronicles 7:14 was not addressed to Christians in the United States, and the situation calling for an appropriate response was a physical devastation of the land.

I find it disappointing that Christians fail to interpret 2 Chronicles 7:14 in context when they call for prayer on behalf of the United States. I also find it interesting that they focus on the need to pray but fail to mention the need to “turn from their wicked ways.” Carving up Scripture by taking only what one wants is really an act of butchering Scripture, isn’t it?

Please don’t get me wrong. We Christians should pray for our nation. It needs a spiritual overhaul, but let’s base our reason to pray on instructions given to Christians in the New Testament. Here is one of those instructions: “I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority” (1 Timothy 2:1, 2a). It must not have been easy to pray for hostile, ungodly first-century Roman political rulers, but the reason to pray was clear: “that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness (v. 2b).

 So, let us pray!

Where Should We Look for Hope and Change?

Conditions in Judah had reached an all-time low when Isaiah entered the temple in Jerusalem. The hostile Assyrians were eyeing Judah as a vulture eyes a dying animal.  To make matters worse, Judah’s moral and spiritual strength had dissipated. Isaiah depicted the nation as corrupt, hypocritical, rebellious, and ignorant. It resembled a diseased body covered from head to heels with festering wounds, welts, and open sores.

Where could Isaiah look for hope and change?

He couldn’t look to King Uzziah. He had recently died.

He couldn’t look to Israel, Judah’s neighbor to the north. She was far down the slippery slope that would lead to destruction at the hands of the Assyrians.

He couldn’t look to the people of Judah. They were helpless.

But he could look to the Lord; and that’s what he did. In the year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah glimpsed the Lord sitting on a throne, “and the train of His robe filled the temple” (Isaiah 6:1). It was a life-altering moment for Isaiah. The lord cleansed him of his sin and commissioned him to carry His message to the nation—a message of hope and change.  The Lord promised to pardon and restore all who would turn from their sin and trust in Him. He would not abandon His people. Chapters 40—66 spill over with hope of a new day based on the Messiah’s substitutionary suffering (Isa. 53).

The United States has entered an uncertain period of history. Morally and spiritually we are adrift, and hostile nations would like to see us collapse. So, where should we look for hope and change? If we look only to the man who will occupy the White House for the next four years, we will be disappointed. However, if we look to the Sovereign of heaven and earth, the One to whom Isaiah looked, we will find hope and genuine change.

Soon, we will cast our ballots for the next President of the United States. Let’s choose wisely and put our utmost confidence in the One who holds the future in His hands.  

A Few Words About Words

We can’t avoid hearing cuss words and vulgar language, but we can avoid using them The Bible commands: “You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God” (Exodus 20:7a), and teaches us to regard God’s name as hallowed  (revered) [Matthew 6:9]. Further, the Bible instructs us to guard our speech (Proverbs 13:3). It should be “always full of grace, seasoned with salt” (Colossians 4:6).

James taught that the sinful use of the tongue “corrupts the whole person” (James 3:6), and he questioned how praise and cursing come out of the same mouth. “My brothers, this should not be,” he wrote (verse 10).

With that brief background, I want to appeal to my Christian friends on Facebook not to use cuss words. Perhaps they have crept into their vocabulary by osmosis. I’m sure the longer a person is exposed to the cussing he hears on TV, in the movies, and in the workplace the easier it is to become immune to it and the more likely he is to let cussing and vulgarity slip into his speech. But we are called not only to a high standard of conduct but also to a high standard of speech. So, let’s honor the Lord in all our social contacts, including those we maintain on Facebook.

Feel free to call me a prude, but please don’t use a descriptive cuss word with the word “prude.”